Contract provision may validly shorten CEPA statute of limitations period.

The New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act ("CEPA") contains a statutory one-year statute of limitations which generally begins to run from the date of the retaliatory adverse employment action. The job application completed by the plaintiff provided for a six-month statute of limitations on all claims relating to the employment and a waiver of any rights to the contrary. The court concluded that the contractual limitation on the statute of limitations period was permissible and that the six-month period was reasonable. Nevertheless, the court refused to uphold the limitation since it concluded that, to be effective, the provision needed to be clear and unambiguous with regard to its scope and application, including its applicability to CEPA claims.

Case Law Alert, 1st Qtr 2012